It earned Ivanovic the man-of-the-match award and was personal redemption for the burly defender, who missed last year's Champions League final triumph against Bayern Munich through suspension.

"This is one of the best moments of my career," he said. "Winning a European final like this is a dream.

"I always said it is the team who win every title - not individuals. Even tonight we had some people missing through injury.

"But I am so happy. It is a pleasure to be part of this team. When you win one trophy, you should always want another. There is something within sport that keeps pushing you on. We have felt that a lot of times this season. We used it as extra motivation."

Ivanovic's team-mate Fernando Torres told ITV: "We really wanted to win this Europa League. Maybe because this could have been our only chance to do it.

"I am very happy. It was a really tough match."

The Chelsea defender Ashley Cole praised the collective will of his team following the win in Amsterdam. The England left-back was making just his third appearance in the competition, but emerged with a winner's medal to add to his extensive collection.

"I'm not too sure how many [medals] I've won, but I still enjoy the feeling of winning," Cole told Chelsea TV.

"I think we've got that mentality never to give up. You look at the weekend against Villa – we never gave up, kept the pressure on.

"We dominated clear-cut chances and we're lucky we've got Brana with his big head to score the header."

The victory saw Chelsea win a trophy at the eighth attempt this season and it was an unexpected success, given they tumbled into the Europa League only after suffering the ignominy of becoming the first holders to exit the Champions League at the group stages.

Cole was determined to savour the triumph and insisted it was a squad effort, with everyone playing their part, including the likes of injured captain John Terry, forward Eden Hazard and Cole's left-back deputy Ryan Bertrand.

"I'm just happy to be playing," the 32-year-old said.

"It was a pity for the people injured, like JT and Ryan, Eden Hazard. Disappointed for them. But it was a team effort through not just this game but the other games so we'll celebrate as a team."

Rafael Benítez pointed to the impact of Fernando Torres after Chelsea had claimed the Europa League crown.

Torres opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season.

"We have had a lot of players improving during the season," Benítez said. "Fernando was one of these players.

"A lot of people said I was appointed to bring the best from Fernando. He has improved a lot so I am really pleased.

"He has working hard with the fitness coaches and medical staff and [on Wednesday night] he was the difference again."

The triumph must have been particularly sweet for the 53-year-old, given his many critics within the Chelsea support. "If you have to win for people to realise the job we are doing? Well, we won. Hopefully now people will say it is not bad," he said.

"It depends on the perception. But if you analyse everything, we won the Europa League with one striker for every single game. We managed players with yellow cards. [Last night] we only had 18 players.

"If you put everything together you will realise how hard it is. I think we did well."

The defeat was a shattering experience for Benfica and their coach, Jorge Jesus.

Apparently, it has made Jesus think about the wisdom of signing a contract extension that has already been agreed.

"I have a very close relationship with the president," he said. "I have been talking to him over the last few weeks about renewing my contract. We have agreed most of the details but football changes every day.

"This defeat will lead me to have some time to think about these issues."

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